It didn’t take long for David Tepper to reveal what kind of owner he’ll be of the Carolina Panthers.

Hands-on and impatient, apparently.

This is Tepper’s first season in charge of an NFL franchise, after purchasing the Panthers from the discredited Jerry Richardson in May. At the time Tepper implied he would not immediately insert his influence on the team’s operation, either on or off the field.

“(I’m) not going to be there until July to do anything,” he said.

Tepper had to have been happy just four weeks ago. His Panthers got off to a 6-2 start and all was looking up. QB Cam Newton was performing better than he had since his 2015 league MVP season, and the defence looked stout again, too.

But starting with that ugly 52-21 loss at Pittsburgh on Thursday, Nov. 8 the Panthers have now lost four straight, to fall to 6-6 – and are in danger of slipping out of post-season contention.

All it took was 25 days of suspect play. Hours after the Panthers fell out of a playoff position, what did Mr. New Owner do?

He met with head coach Ron Rivera on Monday morning, along with GM Marty Hurney. Shortly afterward the team announced that Rivera had more or less demoted defensive coordinator Eric Washington to defensive front-seven coach, and that he fired D-line coach Brady Hoke and assistant secondary coach Jeff Imamura.

At a followup news conference Rivera said the staff shakeup was all his decision, that he’d merely informed Tepper and Hurney at their joint morning meeting. Rivera confirmed that he will now call defensive plays, even if Washington retains his defensive-coordinator title and helps in that regard.

“I’ve done it twice before in my career,” Rivera said of overseeing taking over the defence and calling plays, “and I’ve been fortunate enough to be successful.”

Rivera’s contention that it was all his idea might not ring so hollow if Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports a day earlier had not reported he’d been “hearing for weeks about Tepper’s discontent with the direction of the franchise” – that the owner had been “discussing potential changes with confidants,” and that nothing that occurred in Carolina’s disappointing 24-17 loss at lowly Tampa Bay “could possibly change that for the better.”

Presuming, then, that Tepper indeed applied pressure on Rivera, the question must be asked: Is Rivera himself in danger of losing his job should the Panthers keep losing?

You better believe it.

In fact, if you look at Carolina’s remaining schedule, it doesn’t look good for the man who has been the Panthers’ head coach since 2011. Carolina’s last four games: this Sunday at Cleveland; Dec. 17 at home against New Orleans, a Monday night; Dec. 23 at home vs. Atlanta; and Dec. 30 at New Orleans.

Three wins there would be tough, and even then that only would give the Panthers a 9-7 record. It’s likelier that the Panthers split the last four to finish 8-8 – probably not good enough to garner an NFC wild-card berth.

At his introductory news conference as new Panthers owner in Atlanta in May, Tepper tried to exhibit traits that can be admirable in any leader: humility and self-deprecation. Only he way overcooked them.

“There’s a great team down there right now,” he said upon being asked what changes he might make to the club. “(And) I have a great appreciation for how stupid I am.”

Ha ha.

And he kept referring to how dumb he is. Sure. You’re a self-made billionaire simpleton.

But later in that news conference Tepper revealed more than maybe he intended about his competitive side. He tried to cloak it in humour, but it should have served as a real warning to the entire Panthers football operation, especially given Rivera’s actions Monday morning.

“The first thing I care about is winning,” Tepper said. “The second thing I care about is winning. And the third thing I care about is?”

Right. Winning.

Rivera surely knows what’s in store if the Panthers don’t make the playoffs. Because it appears Tepper won’t hesitate even one day to act fast when his team isn’t doing the Charlie Sheen thing – winning.

FIVE FAST FACTS: The Steelers had never blown a 16-point lead in 175 games with such a lead at home, until Sunday night … Denver RB Philip Lindsay is the first RB to average seven yards per carry in three straight games since 2007, and the first rookie since 1993 … Only Peyton Manning (1,749) has had more completions in his first five NFL years than Oakland’s Derek Carr (1,670 and counting) … The Cardinals hadn’t won a game in 1 C or colder weather in 35 years … Rams DT Aaron Donald has 16.5 sacks, four forced fumbles and 20 TFLs already this season.

TAKING A KNEE: Quite a few readers, via Twitter and email, took me to task on my assessment of rookie Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen in Sunday’s 21-17 loss at Miami. I referred to him as the game’s premier offensive performer, in light of the fact that he rushes for more yards (135) than the game’s other eight rushers (123) and passed for way more yards (231) than Miami’s Ryan Tannehill (137).

No, I must have only listened to the game on radio, I was told. And how did I ever get a job writing sports if Allen’s passer ratings was 71.7 and Tannehill’s was 103.6?

Well, I wasn’t talking about efficiency.

Allen still has a long way to go from an accuracy standpoint, which has so much bearing on efficiency. Whether he can ever get there largely will determine whether he makes it as an NFL QB, as I wrote Sunday.

But even more than I thought, after diving deeper into the stats of Sunday’s Bills-Dolphins game it’s even clearer that Allen took it over, offensively, by the second half.

Indeed, after halftime the 23-year-old amassed 292 yards either running or throwing. The rest of the game’s offensive playmakers – Tannehill, all runnings backs, all receivers – combined for 298.

And none of those 17 Bills and Dolphins players amassed more than Buffalo receiver Zay Jones’ 52 on his own.

I think what Allen decided at some point in the third quarter is that he could burn that Dolphins defence with runs. That the name of the game is winning, and the competitor in him saw that as a co-avenue to that end. Besides, Allen is a spectacular runner whose speed, athleticism and athletic instinctiveness are still continually underrated.

While some in Western New York are looking more at his bad incompletions, I think the far more resonating takeaway from Sunday’s game is that the kid figured out how to best put his team in a position to win – then did. Dramatically and breathtakingly. The last thing Allen is is a robot who’s going to just stand in that pocket because that’s the only to win.

No, in some games you have to do whatever’s necessary. He had the onions to do it, to say to himself and his team, “I’m taking this game over.”

If that can’t get a Bills fan excited, what will?

Right or wrong time to fire McCarthy?

Much has been made of Green Bay’s firing of long-time head coach Mike McCarthy, effective immediately. Specifically, the timing of it.

Some, such as NBC analyst and Hall of Fame head coach Tony Dungy and FOX analyst and Hall of Fame QB Troy Aikman, called it cruel and unfair of the Packers to not let McCarthy coach out the season.

Others, such as many of the most plugged-in NFL reporters who intimately know how the NFL coach-replacement process works, say it was necessary to do it now – for both club and McCarthy.

For the club, because it can conduct its replacement search in the open. And the timing is perfect if the club has any college head coach in mind, for that regular season (save the Army-Navy game this Saturday) concluded on the weekend.

For McCarthy, because it not only allows him to get a foot in the door of any NFL vacancies that should emerge in the coming weeks in addition to Cleveland, but his track record might even compel a team considering a head-coaching change to dump its incumbent to pursue him.

For what it’s worth, Packers CEO Mark Murphy at a Monday news conference said “change was needed. Mike’s tenure had run its course. I think we needed a new voice. And it happens in our league.”

For his part, McCarthy said and did the right things Sunday night upon learning his painful fate. FOX Sports reporter Jay Glazer tweeted that he spoke with McCarthy, and said the 55-year-old had “nothing but praise” for the Packers and told Glazer he was “proud to be part of such a great organization.”

That’s check one. Check two was when Glazer reported that McCarthy told him his “main focus” upon learning the news was “his family.”

Family man. Good man to hire, as it were.

Don’t expect McCarthy to be out of work long. By the end of the first week of January he’ll probably be hired by another NFL team.

Hicks is ‘The Fridge Part 2!’

The Chicago Bears debuted their 21st century version of The Fridge, if you missed it on Sunday.

In the franchise’s lone Super Bowl championship season of 1985, the Bears occasionally lined up massive defensive lineman William (The Refrigerator) Perry at fullback, and even handed the ball off to him a few times to plough over for a touchdown.

Well, in the second quarter of Sunday’s 30-27 overtime loss at the New York Giants, Bears head coach Matt Nagy plucked that page from yesteryear’s playbook and had 6-foot-5, 332-pound defensive end Akiem Hicks do likewise – on a fourth-and-goal from the one.

According to the Chicago Tribune, FOX Sports game announcers Kevin Burkhardt and Charles Davis were aware of the formation, but Hicks on Saturday had slyly told them he’d only block if the play were used. Instead, Hicks got the handoff and bulldozed in for the touchdown.

Hicks, a native Californian, finished his college football career in Canada with the University of Regina Rams.

“It’s ‘The Fridge Part 2’!” Burkhardt said on air in announcing the score.

Kareem Hunt goes unclaimed on waivers

No other NFL team claimed Kareem Hunt off waivers Monday. He’s now a free agent, free to sign a new contract with any team.

The Kansas City Chiefs waived the second-year running back on Friday night, hours after a security video from his Cleveland hotel home went viral, showing him ploughing a man into a woman, which sent her flying into a wall, then kicking the same woman.

Hunt remains on the commissioner’s exempt list, meaning he cannot practise, play or attend games until either cleared by the league or serves a suspension. That would apply to any team that might now sign him.

The 23-year-old led the NFL in rushing a year ago as a rookie, with 1,327 yards. This season in 11 games he had rushed for 824 and scored 14 touchdowns, seven on the ground and seven as a receiver.

A week ago the Washington Redskins took immense criticism for claiming waived San Francisco 49ers linebacker Reuben Foster, after his latest run-in with the law – an incident at the 49ers hotel in Tampa the day before their game against the host Buccaneers, in which Foster allegedly slapped a woman in the face.

The Redskins, however, decided to weather the short-term criticism, as head coach Jay Gruden admitted last week, and picked up Foster. Like Hunt, Foster remains on the commissioner’s exempt list and cannot practise, play or attend Redskins games.

Any player on that list, however, continues to be paid.

QUARTERBACK RANKINGS

All 32 starting QBs, after Sunday games, with last week’s rankings in brackets:

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